Mobile Phone Bottom Feeders: Exploring the Depths of Handset Design

Plum Mobile Might and Debut

Plum Mobile isn’t Samsung, but the company has a phone that looks almost exactly like the Galaxy Note -- and it’s running a version of Android that looks a lot like HTC’s skin of the Google operating system. As far as bottom-feeders go, Plum knows how to make hardware for the low-end that looks, at first glance, like the high-end.

This year was Plum’s CTIA debut. At a year and a half old, the company has so far built its name selling feature phones in the Caribbean, Latin America, India and the Middle East. This summer, however, Plum is getting into Android phones with the release of the Note lookalike Might smartphone, as well as a 7-inch tablet called the Debut. Both feature dual SIM card slots, 1GHz single-core processors, and Google’s Android 2.3 OS, aka Gingerbread.

"Nobody knows who we are and that's why we're at CTIA," Pablo Tessitore, a Plum spokesman, told Wired.

The Debut tablet is unique in that it can make phone calls -- "something the iPad and Samsung tablets can't do," Tessitore said. The Might, meanwhile, has a 5-inch screen and features a chassis that is a nearly spot-on match to the Note.

Tessitore acknowledged that the similarities between the Might and the Note are striking, but said Plum doesn’t want to be known for selling lower-priced, knock-off devices. "We're not copying them at all," he said of Samsung. "We're just filling a need of our customers for a Note-style device at a better price point."

Plum didn’t announce prices for the Might or the Debut, but other devices in its lineup sell from $20 to $200 for unlocked hardware.

Kyocera Rise and Hydro

Kyocera, like Huawei, is another bottom-feeding brand that’s looking to increase its prestige via two new handsets sporting improved build quality and specs -- the Rise (left) and the Hydro.

"We're not going to be Samsung or Apple this year, and we're not going to win the Android arms race either," said Bill Veasy, a Kyocera field sales manager. "But we are shooting for that mid-tier opportunity. We can offer better products than what's out there today for the mid-tier."

Both of the new handsets, which haven't yet been given public release dates or price points, run Android 4.0 and feature 3.5-inch, 480x320 touchscreens, 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPUs, 3.2-megapixel rear cameras, and 2GB of built-in storage paired with 512MB of RAM.

The Rise features a slide-out keyboard, while the Hydro touts a hard plastic body that Veasy says can take a lot of abuse.

Emporia Click, RL2... and a Bunch of Other Obscure, Narrow-Use-Case Handsets

Austrian phone maker Emporia Telecom isn't looking to make the fastest, the thinnest or even the best-selling phones in the world. It has no high-end aspirations. Instead, it wants to sell handsets to the elderly, the hard of hearing, and anyone with poor eyesight.

You’ll find three design hallmarks in every Emporia phone: large number keys on the front (because most smartphones are designed for humans with bionic vision), blinking lights on the top (because missed calls and messages too often stay missed), and rugged, durable build quality (because accidents happen).

On the back of each handset is an "emergency call" button that can be programmed to dial five different numbers in the event of an emergency.

"When an elderly person has an emergency or a problem, and they need to call someone quick, sometimes 9-1-1 isn't the best option," said Greg Foley, the president and CEO of Emporia's U.S. division. "Sometimes you just want to call a friend, a family member, a loved one."

Emporia's phones are launching this summer at prices between $40 and $130, and carrier announcements will come soon, Foley said. From left to right, the five-phone lineup consists of the Click, the RL2, the TALKcomfort, the SOLIDplus and the Telme (up top).

Huawei Ascend D Quad and P1s

Finally, a company many people have heard of. Most North American gadget enthusiasts aren’t interested in the manufacturer’s phones, of course, but its name isn’t completely obscure.

Huawei is a bottom-feeding handset and tablet maker with high-end aspirations. Aiming for greater, more positive brand I.D. in the States, the company brought to CTIA two new handsets that look good enough to push Huawei's image forward. And, indeed, the Huawei lineup was more compelling than just about anything being shown off by the company’s similarly low-end peers.

The Huawei Ascend D Quad, on left, features a 4.5-inch, 720p touchscreen, an 8MP rear camera and a 1.3MP front camera. It’s also running Android 4.0, a rarity among no-name smartphones. Powering the D Quad will be a Huawei-designed 1.5GHz quad-core CPU the company is calling the K3. Watch out, Nvidia and Samsung -- there’s another player in the quad-core mobile game!

At right is the Ascend P1s, a stylish phone with a plastic back in various colors -- red, white, black. Huawei says it’s one of the thinnest phones in the world at 0.26 inches thick. The P1s also features a 4.3-inch touchscreen, Android 4.0 and a dual-core 1.GHz processor. Intrigued? We are.

Pricing and carrier options for the D Quad and the P1s haven’t yet been announced, Huawei spokeswoman Jannie Luong told Wired. Later this year, Huawei also plans to launch its first handset running Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, Luong said.

ZTE Era and Warp

ZTE is a Chinese brand that’s been making lower-priced phones for the U.S. market for a number of years, selling its wares through carries such as Sprint, Boost Mobile, Cricket and others. And while ZTE had some higher-end handsets to show off at CTIA, those phones won't be headed stateside. All we’ll be getting from ZTE are bottom-feeders.

At left is the new ZTE Era, which will go on sale later this year in Asia. The Era has a quad-core processor, 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, 8GB of storage, and a 1080p rear video camera. It runs on Google's Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, and will be sold abroad in a number of colors such as copper, blue and silver.

To the right of the Era is the Warp, one of ZTE's top U.S.-bound handsets, which can be had for about $180 as a pre-paid phone from Boost Mobile. The Warp features a 4.3-inch touchscreen and 2GB of built-in storage, and runs on Android 2.3. ZTE has no plans to bring the Era and other high-end handsets from Asia to the U.S., said Barbara Tate, a ZTE spokeswoman. So lower your ambition levels -- you’ll take the Warp, and you’ll like it, damn it.

Unnecto Drift, Pro, Eco and Quattro

Unnecto is another obscure, no-name brand that made its CTIA debut this year with a lineup of bargain-basement feature phones shod in flamboyant plastic bodies. Besides looking like they were purchased from gumball machines, the Unnecto handsets feature dual-SIM card slots and run on 2G networks -- no 4G to be found here, boys and girls. The company's phones range in price from about $50 to $250, unlocked and free of any carrier contract.

On the high end of the company's low-end range is Quattro, which will launch in June as the company's first 3G phone, as well as the only Unnecto handset running Google's Android OS (version 2.3 Gingerbread). The Quattro also features a 5MP rear camera and a single-core CPU. Now that’s some fancy phonery.

Pictured from left to right, you’ll find the Drift, Pro, Eco and Quattro. The Drift sells for $70, while the Eco is priced at $50. The price points for the Pro, also going on sale in June, and the Quattro haven't yet been finalized, said Sarah Mogin, a spokesperson for the company.

Konka T6100 and T610

Chinese electronics maker Konka Group isn't planning on selling its bottom-feeder phones in the U.S. any time soon, but it was at CTIA looking to make some deals for other parts of the globe.

The company manufactures (and sells all over the world) feature phones, smartphones, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and even air conditioning units under its own brand and others, Leonard Xin, a vice general manager at Konka, told Wired.

At CTIA, Konka was looking to meet mobile phone distributors, as well as other electronics makers and suppliers, Xin said. Konka builds smartphones that run on Google's Android operating system, as well as touchscreen feature phones that run on a custom-built OS that looks a lot like Google’s OS, but can’t run mobile apps.

At left is the Konka T6100, which features a 3.5-inch, 480x320 display, a single-core CPU and a 2MP camera. It’s running Google's Android Gingerbread OS. To the right is the T610, which runs on Konka’s Android lookalike software.

Gadget Lab is awash in high-end smartphones. We’re practically swimming in multi-core processors, cutting-edge display technology, and 4G bandwidth. Ice Cream Sandwich? We eat it every day for lunch.

We’re gadget enthusiasts. We’re literally paid to test the industry’s hottest superphones. But while we’re playing around with top-shelf hardware, what are less-passionate, less-demanding consumers actually buying? After all, not everyone will be purchasing an elite smartphone this year. Across the planet, the wireless industry will put some very crappy phones in the pockets of people who just aren’t interested in (or can’t afford) the latest features and specs.

Last week’s CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans was ground zero for bottom-feeding mobile phone hardware. Have you heard of Plum Mobile? The company makes the Might, shown above. How about Unnecto? These are not household names. Nonetheless, these manufacturers and others almost equally as obscure descended on the convention to strike deals with wireless carriers. Gadget Lab was there to see their handsets up close.

If any of the following phones strike your fancy, let us know, and we’ll call them in for review. If nothing else, spending more time with bottom-feeding handsets should remind us just how much we love high-end smartphones -- and that we should never take our jobs as gadget critics for granted.